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Sunday, 25 March 2012

knocking down my mental blocks

I love baking and eating muffins, but believe it or not, this is the first time in my 5 years of baking that I have ever tried making savoury ones...

To me, it has always been, muffins = sweet, never savoury...and I am too overly concerned with whether my family members would be able to accept the taste. I even made myself worry with what to serve alongside a batch of savoury muffins...soup, salad?? These mental blocks were all knocked off when I finally sank my teeth into a soft, warm and buttery tuna muffin.

Thanks to the lovely post by Pook of Dailydelicious, her Tuna Muffins made me wanted to rushed into the kitchen to make myself some right away. I am always very inspired by her elegant pastries and mouth watering desserts....however, most of the time I failed to pick up the courage to try her recipes. I really doubt I could make anything close. But, this time, her savoury muffins look easy enough for me, and most important of all, my kids like tuna. At least, I know there is no danger of me having to end up eating all the muffins on my own ;)

As expected, these savoury muffins I made are miles apart from those by Dailydelicious. Nevertheless, the recipe yielded some really awesome muffins I have ever tasted. Other than taking the liberty to add in some sweet corns, I followed her recipe to a T.

I started preparing the ingredients just one hour before breakfast time. My table was already set when the muffins were almost done. I took them straight from the oven to the breakfast table and had to keep reminding the rest at the table to be patient, to leave the muffins to cool off a little.

My initial concerns were unfounded, these muffins were better than I could have ever imagined. I was filled with a great sense of satisfaction as I devoured a freshly baked muffin, every mouthful was a delight! I love the tiny hint of crisp on the crust lending a contrast to the soft, very fine, cake like crumbs. Surprisingly, they didn't leave a greasy after taste at all even thought they were made with the creaming method. I tried one later in the afternoon, eaten cold, it tasted just as good, I had no issues with the muffins turning dry. I warmed the leftovers the next day and they tasted just like freshly baked. Now, the only downside is, not everyone in the family is as receptive, guess I'll have to make these more often to get everyone to acquire the taste :)

Saute chopped onion with some vegetable oil over medium to low heat until the onion turns soft and translucent. Leave to cool.

Drain tuna, break into smaller pieces with a fork, set aside. If using frozen sweet corns, thaw, wash and drain, set aside.

Sieve together cake flour and baking powder, set aside.

In a mixing bowl, beat butter, sugar, salt and pepper until light and fluffy (I used a manual whisk). Add in the egg gradually, beat well after each addition.

Add half of the flour mixture, fold with a spatula to combine. Add half of the milk, fold to combine. Add half of the remaining flour mixture, fold to combine, followed by the rest of the milk.

Add the rest of the flour with the tuna, onion and sweet corn kernels, fold to combine

Spoon batter into paper cups or muffin pans lined with paper liners. Sprinkle parsley flakes over the top (optional).

Bake at 180degC for 18 ~ 20mins or until a tooth pick inserted into the centre comes out clean. (Note the muffins will only be very lightly browned due to the small amount of sugar used.) Best served hot or warm from the oven.

Your photographs are always stunning and your recipes always mouth-watering. Do you really click with a power shoot camera? Looking at the clarity of your photos, it looks like you have upgraded to a DSLR camera.

HHB, i have tried a vegetarian version of this a few years back. I used Bisquick Baking mix (not pancake mix). When i saw the thumbnail, i thought they were white chocolate muffins, You never cease to surprise me as always. I am on a quest find to orion custard cake recipe, will keep you updated.

HHB, the muffins look very enticing! Do you think I can add cheese to this recipe? I've baked bacon and cheese muffins before and I was surprised how good savoury muffins can be! It also took me a long time to try out savoury muffins. I hope to bake some savoury scones soon!

i tried savory muffins a few weeks ago, i was out of my comfort zone also as i have a set ideas that muffins should be sweet but actually i quite enjoyed them and my son loves taking them in his lunch box instead of sandwiches, i will be trying these they look really nice!

Hi HHB, I finally managed to bake this tuna and corn muffins this week! They were awesome! Very soft, fragrant and so satisfying! My hubby who is not a muffin fan gave the thumbs up! Thank you so much for sharing this superb recipe. I added cheddar cheese in the batter and it turned out great. The next thing on my mind is the fuss free wholemeal bread. I've tried so many of your breads, muffins and cakes recipe and almost everytime the results are good. Thank you for all your tried and tested recipes!

Hi Butterfingers, glad to hear that you like these tuna muffins :) and thanks so much for taking the time to leave your feedback and comment! Kind words like yours keep me going, at least I know my effort spent on posting the recipes here is not wasted :):)